Krannert School of Management is the business school of Purdue, a public university located between Chicago and Indianapolis in the Indiana town of West Lafayette.
While economics classes at Purdue date back to the 1930s, the school was not created until 1958 when the School of Industrial Management was formed from the merger of two earlier departments. It took its current name in 1962 following a $2.73 million gift from Herman C Krannert, who had received business advice from faculty members.
Advertising itself as "Preparing analytical global business leaders" it points to the benefits of being part of "aspiring business leaders' most vibrant eco-system" and in particular Purdue’s heritage of science, technology and engineering leading to the production of 23 astronauts, the most by any US university. Its sports teams play under the name of Boilermakers.
Its MBA was known until 2001 as a Master of Science in Management, with the change in title solely to match other universities and not involving any changes in a curriculum which still includes compulsory calculus. Close to one thirds of MBAs go into operations and logistics.
It has a long history of international connections, in 1995 creating what it claims as the first joint Executive Masters between a US and a European school with ESC Rouen and from 1999 becoming a partner in the creation of the German Industrial Graduate School of Management and Education (GISMA) in Hannover. Krannert now offers more than 100 study abroad options to fit "almost any student’s needs", while close to one third of MBA students come from Asia.
Significant recent initiatives include the creation in 2016 of the Jane Brock-Wilson Women in Management Centre, whose activities include four-day residential camps for high school girls interested in business careers.
